I commend your paper for calling attention to low student voter turnout (“Local officials seek to boost student-voter participation,” March 19). However, I was disappointed your reporters failed to mention they were covering a news conference sponsored by Students for Echnaton Vedder and Students for Tom Powell that prominently featured these two candidates. Just as importantly, your paper failed to mention the names of the other candidates running against them in races for the County Board and City Council April 2. Ion Skillrud is a candidate for County Board in the eighth supervisory district, and I am a candidate for City Council in the fifth aldermanic district.

As noted in your article, there are several reasons for low voter turnout. Some students may feel more of a connection to their hometown than to Madison, or they may believe the issues they care about — reliable transportation, safety, adequate and affordable housing — may be determined more by campus authorities than elected officials on the City Council or County Board. Campus newspapers serve their readership well by encouraging student awareness of the issues and candidates’ positions on them. I am grateful to your paper for your coverage of the current campaign, but I would hope that in the future, when you report on news conferences organized by political campaigns and designed to benefit one candidate at the expense of another, you would identify the sponsoring organizations.

Ron Rosner, Candidate for Madison Common Council, District 5